May 05, 2011 –
The micorpallet array consists of thousands of polymer pedestals called micropallets (red) on which cells (purple) are grown. Nanoparticles mixed into the material allow the micropallets to be manipulated with magnetic fields.
When Nicholas Gunn decided recently to add photography to his list of hobbies, he probably didn’t suspect the rewards would be quite so tangible.
The CALIT2-affiliated postdoctoral researcher, who received his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from UC Irvine last December, won first place in the third annual μTAS Art in Science Award competition for his micrograph depicting fibroblast cells cultured on microscale pedestals. The image was reproduced on the cover of the March 21, 2011 issue of the journal Lab on a Chip, and Gunn pocketed the $2,500 prize.
Gunn created the micrograph, which he calls “Cell Block 9,” on the Zeiss EVO scanning electron microscope, which until last year resided in the CALIT2 Building. It has since been replaced with a Quanta 3D FEG 600.
The magnetic micropallet array portrayed in Gunn’s image represents a novel microtechnology that allows single cells to be easily isolated and recovered from large mixed populations. His research, in collaboration with CALIT2@UCI Director G.P. Li, engineering professor Mark Bachman and tumor immunologist Dr. Edward Nelson, incorporates ferromagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles into polymer pedestals on which individual cells are adhered, allowing them to be manipulated and collected magnetically.
This technology has applications in cancer research. Because individual cells can be isolated, counted and collected from cancerous tumors, and identified on a cellular level, this approach could lead to the design of individualized treatment strategies.
A research paper, “Magnetic Micropallets for Single Adherent Cell Recovery and Analysis,” was presented at the International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, held last fall in the Netherlands.
Gunn, who was first runner-up in last year’s Art in Science competition, is delighted with the success of his image and the publicity it has brought to his research. “After coming so close [last year] it felt really good to win this year,” he admits.
Gunn proudly displays his prize.
He credits in part the photogenic nature of the project itself, and gives props to his mother, an artist who offered him valuable feedback as he worked to select the final image. “I have a research project that makes an interesting subject for photographic and micrographic art, and I am fortunate in that regard,” he says modestly.
Gunn, who also won the Best Student Paper in 2008 from the American Society of Mechanical Engineering’s Frontiers in Biomedical Devices Conference, says more importantly, this award exposes the project to a broader audience. “Hopefully, people saw the image and became interested in our work and not just the aesthetics.”
G.P. Li is proud of his former student and pleased that the micrograph was created in CALIT2’s microscopy center. “The SEM and other instruments available at CALIT2 are enabling those in the UCI community to expand the boundaries of their research,” he says. “I am glad Nick was able to use these tools to capture an award-winning image.”
The μTAS Art in Science Award was established in 2008, and is organized and sponsored by Lab on a Chip, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, μTAS and the Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society.
— Anna Lynn Spitzer
